Social Media in Law – Is it Worth It?

Social Media might be seen by some as a bit of a fool’s game, but, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a greater uptake in lawyers to use it in a professional capacity. During the pandemic, it was seen as vital for lawyers to remain connected to colleagues and clients in a world where face-to-face meetings were impossible. However, this use has continued since, and it seems likely it will increase further in the years to come. But can social media really be useful for lawyers?

One key platform lawyers can use is LinkedIn. The social media platform for professionals did have a reputation for being focused on PR announcements for businesses, but this view changed during the pandemic, as take up skyrocketed. Many took to LinkedIn to help them make vital connections, especially people who had recently joined legal firms and had no opportunity to do the kind of networking that is vital when starting out. Many professionals now use LinkedIn to build a personal brand, and lawyers can do the same thing. There are lots of resources out there to help with people wanting to develop their personal brand: HubSpot, Harvard Business Review and McKinsey have some really useful tips for people who are looking to develop their brand, which are linked below.

While people have been able to build personal brands for years, this has usually only been reserved for partners and founders. However, with the widespread use of social media, now all lawyers can have a chance to build an audience of potential clients. Having an engaging social media feed can now help shine a light on areas of law that would be overlooked otherwise, and offer up new opportunities, including events, campaigns and more. Some good examples of this are people like Katie Burke and Liz Ryan, both of whom have built up a huge following on LinkedIn and offer a good template for people who want to start using social media to promote themselves.

Social Media use in law is only growing stronger as time goes on and shows no sign of slowing down. However, it remains to be seen whether it is for everyone: you need to have a strategy for promoting yourself online, and time constraints may prevent you from doing other work that is equally as important, like meeting with potential clients face-to-face. And doing it wrong can be seen as worse as not doing it at all. But, with it becoming social media more ubiquitous in our lives, is it worth missing out on what could be a lucrative stream of potential new clients?

Further Reading

This interesting article from Legal Business covers this subject in a lot more detail, and features interviews with several prolific and high-profile lawyers: 

https://www.legalbusiness.co.uk/analysis/social-media-influencers-winning-friends-and-influencing-people/

The Harvard Business Review, HubSpot and McKinsey have all published articles on personal branding, with tips and links to advise you on your personal branding: 

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-brand-is-back-staying-relevant-in-an-accelerating-age

https://hbr.org/2022/09/how-to-build-your-personal-brand-at-work

https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/the-ultimate-guide-to-personal-branding